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Cider is one of my favorite things. To me, cider is to autumn as maple syrup is to spring ? a seasonal treat best enjoyed from local sources. The transparent, pasteurized stuff in the clear glass jugs doesn?t hold a candle to the rich, brown nectar made at area orchards and packaged in plastic jugs.
And while the idea of hard cider has always appealed to me, I?ve never found any of those sold in six packs from beer coolers to be particularly compelling (though I have enjoyed the occasional Woodpecker). Recently, however, I was given a 22-ounce bottle of an artisanal cider that will have me requesting it at my local suds shop. (Yoo-hoo, Zionsville Payless....)
J. K. Scrumpy?s Orchard Gate Gold is a wonderfully tasty cider, crisp, clean and deliciously refreshing. It retains the flavor of slightly tart apples, which is enhanced by its creamy fizziness. As long as I?m making comparisons, this stuff is to mass-produced hard ciders as a good Belgian ale is to Coors Light. Of course, at $6.99 one bottle of J. K. Scrumpy?s will set you back about as much as a six-pack of regular hard cider will, too. If you?re motivated more by quality than fluid ounces per dollar, it?s well worth it.
J. K. Scrumpy?s is made by Jim Koan of Almar Orchards, an organic orchard and vegetable farm in Flushing, Michigan that has been in his family for four generations. The name is derived in part from the name for an English farmhouse cider, scrumpy. Koan?s cider differs from the English variety (English scrumpy is usually still, not sparkling), but it is made from an authentic recipe made by his family since the 1850s. Koan credits cider sales for saving the family farm during the Depression, and says that people came from far and wide during Prohibition to take home some of their ?special farm cider.?
J. K. Scrumpy?s recently became available locally at Kahn?s, and no doubt will be turning up soon at some other stores soon.
2006 Muga Roija Blanco $12.99 Wine label said: Nothing much… it’s barrel fermented and imported by Jorge Ordonez. Whoopdeedoo. Vineyard66 says: As I am still researching Spanish wines, I’ve noticed that my good friend Bill from California has been spouting off about Muga Roija. Of course, he was speaking about the red wines the area is famous for. I [...]
As these words appear on the page, outside my window the sky has its own idea about what a ros is. Of course, in the early morning the idea of a ros is an evolving one. Right now we?re in a Franciacorta ros moment. As Spring winds down and Summer is setting the stage for its moment, wine lovers love to talk about ros.
Outside, a helicopter draws away the last of any color from the morning sky. So here we have the elusive moment for ros. Just when you think its time to sell, drink and share this wine, isn?t autumn announcing its time to put away the toys and get back to the real stuff of wine? Well, here in flyover country we have at least four months before that will happen, and by then who knows what the world will have in store for us?
Copper River salmon are streaming into the local food shops, and at $27 a pound, one cannot always afford a Bandol Ros from Domaine Tempier. One of my go to wines is the La Scolca Rosa Chiara. I know purists probably won?t agree with me, but they don?t run my life. And I love this wine. It?s lively, had a wonderful color and enough body to go with the salmon I love. Maybe it?s my lack of agenda when it comes to enjoying a wine, but I find pleasure in the enjoyment of this ros. I love the color. I like the aromas. I like the fruit. And the body. It?s gulpable. And on a picnic in the park, listening to a Beatles or Stones or Texas Swing cover band, it?s pure summer. Not quite tiny bikinis, but enough skin to tempt and tantalize.
Texas foods, like chicken livers and the baked Italian chicken that my aunt taught me to make go well with anything. But if I have a bottle of a deep ros like one from Abruzzo, Calabria or Sicily, all the better. Three that I like are the Illuminati Campirosa, The Librandi Rosato and the Regaleali Le Ros. These are more deeply colored and with a fuller body. The spice and the fuller flavors match well with fried foods and again make for a wonderful evening on a porch or a patio, sipping with friends and your favorite warm weather comfort foods.
Seasonal warming brings out the grills and makes for a nice transition to the outdoors, if only for an evening. Here in Texas we are preparing for the onslaught of mosquito season, so while we feast we will also be feasted upon. Fish on the grill reminds me of the Maremma and so a ros from that area is a great way to sooth oneself. Marco Bacci?s estate near Grossetto, Terr di Talamo, brings some of us his Piano Piano, a Sangiovese/ Cabernet blend (with maybe a little Alicante as well, eh Marco?). Light in color, fresh, in a word, deelish.
Last summer I trekked to Chicago for a few days. One of the highlights of the trip was to make the pilgrimage to one of the great pizza ovens in America, Spaccanapoli. These are pizzas elevated beyond mere comfort food. And to have them with beer, while that might be great, well, we just had to have a little wine. One of the wines I loved with the two pizzas pictured was the Cavalchina Bardolino Chiaretto. Same grapes as Valpolicella (Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara) with a delicate color, light flavors, just one giant bottle of yum.
We started with a sky the color of Franciacorta ros. For me the morning are serious stuff, so Franciacorta gets the nod for my serious morning ros fix, if I were on vacation or if I stayed up all night. But a little to the east over in Valdobbiadene the Prosecco folks are jumping on the ros bandwagon. And our friends at Bisol have come out with this little ros called Jeio. It?s a perfect wine to sip on the porch while I watch my bees working furiously before the light of the day comes to an end. Here we are, not for me it is time to go to work, selling, not blogging. Getting through another tough month. Ah well, the bees don?t complain, why should I? I?ll just chill a bottle of the Jeio ros for this evening. That?s reason enough.
BUYING AND STORING OLIVE OIL
Choose containers that keep out light: dark glass, ceramic, even metal. With pricey oils, taste before you buy, and look for seal-of-approval initials such as DOP (Italy), DO (Spain) or COOC (California). Keep your oil tightly sealed; store it in a cool, dark place; and use it within two years (some say 18 months) of harvest, or one year after opening. Oh, and that plastic Jug O’ Oil from the C word? Don’t go there. There’s inexpensive, and then there’s swill.
WHAT’S YA FLAVA?
Fruity, peppery, buttery, appley, grassy, herbal, nutty? You’d think you were talking about wine. There’s actually similar flavor chemistry going on in olive oil and wine. Early-harvest olive oils taste greener and more pungent, like an herbaceous sauv blanc. The longer the hang time, the riper the fruit, the smoother the mouthfeel, the mellower the flavors. Late-harvest oils come across more like a full-tilt chard. Both can be great; it’s just a matter of what you like and how you plan to use it. (Uh, you are gonna use it, right? You want to decorate your kitchen counter, buy a bonsai.)
GOT AN EXTRA VIRGIN?
The terms “virgin” and “extra virgin” really are more than just sexy sounding hype: they measure the percentage of harsh-tasting oleic acid in the oil (lower is better), which can translate to quality. “Extra virgin” oils must have less than 1 percent acidity (many clock in below .5 percent) and require as much care in growing and production as boutique wines. Oils with up to 2 percent acidity earn the “virgin” tag. Forget the sluts, er, oils over 3 percent. And also forgo “light” olive oil: the only thing it’s low on is flavor.
IN THE KITCHEN, AT THE TABLE, ALL AROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH
There’s a reason for the large variety of oils: different oils suit different purposes. Think basic wine pairing: match light with light and heavy with heavy. Use subtle oils on mild salad greens or as bread dips, or drizzle a bit on fish, chicken or simple desserts like fruit salad, pound cake or biscotti. Big oils can stand up to red meat - try the Tuscan trick of finishing off a thick grilled steak with a slosh of spicy, robust oil. Better yet, brush the oil on with a rosemary branch while the steak sizzles.
Sometimes the best cooking is no cooking at all. There’s nothing simpler or more satisfying than setting out three or four bottles of oil at the dinner table, along with your chosen vino, some good bread and a cheese or three, before, during and/or after your meal. (If everyone wears black you can feel really superior and Eurotrashy.)
TIPS FOR TASTINGS
Tasting olive oil is a lot like tasting wine: you can stick to one country (Spain, Greece), one region (Tuscany, Sonoma), or one varietal (manzanilla, arbequina) and compare six or eight side by side. Or you can taste a random assortment, and maybe throw in a flavored oil that has citrus or herbs blended in. Add some cubes of chewy bread, little bowls or paper/plastic tasting cups and some easy-drinking wine. Kick back. Speak to each other in Spanish. Wait for Penelope Cruz to show up.
FOR MORE INFO
Check out The Flavors of Olive Oil by Deborah Krasner (Simon & Schuster, 2002) and the Web sites of the International Olive Oil Council (http://www.internationaloliveoil.org) and the California Olive Oil Council (http://www.cooc.com). Or just Google “olive oil” and click around the 50 million or so sites that come up.
OLIVE OIL TASTING NOTES
XX. Antara 100% Arbequina Olives Tarragona - Spain $16/750ml The Ellen DeGeneres of olive oils - easygoing, smooth and slightly nutty. Close to XXX.
XX. Nunez de Prado Extra Virgin Family Estates Crop; Baena - Spain $24/500ml Chris Rock hosting the Oscars - dark, intense and zingers start to finish (but you know what you’re gettin’).
XX. Caroliva Extra Virgin Estate Grown and Bottled; Andalusia - Spain $20/500ml Think a big, buttery chard on steroids. Rich gold color, soft, round and juicy. Close to XXX.
XX. Columela Picual and Hojiblanca Olives Andalucia - Spain $19/500ml Gael Garcia Bernal’s eyes - big, deep and dark. Touch o’ pepper on the finish. Close to XXX.
XX. Gasull Arbequina Olives Catalonia - Spain $22/500ml Cool deep-green bottle with a long slim neck. Purrs like Scarlett Johansson in a Ferrari: soft and elegant with a long, smooth finish.
X. Jordan Hand-Picked, Extra Virgin, From Italian Varietals Alexander Valley - Sonoma $25/375ml Kind of a bait-and-switch: starts out sweet and fruity, then morphs into a porcupine by the time it smacks your tonsils. Close to XX.
X. L’Estornell Extra Virgin, Organic Arbequina Olives Catalonia - Spain $15/375ml Like Erica Christensen in most of her movies: all sweetness and light in the opening scene, but she grabs you by the throat in the last act. Close to XX.
X. Molino de Leoncio Gomez Extra Virgin, Unfiltered, Picudo and Hojiblanca Olives Cordoba - Spain $11/500ml Gotta hunt for the flavors at first, then they do the Big Bang in the back of your mouth. Close to XX.
XXX. Pons Extra Virgin, Arbequina Olives Catalonia - Spain $16/473ml Yo-Yo Ma playing a cello concerto - rich, deep and resonant. Pale gold, medium body, with layers of fresh apple, almond and spice flavors, and a nice little kick on the finish.
XX. Poplar Hill 2005 Extra Virgin Spring Mountain - Napa Valley $20/375ml Light, airy, silky, delicate and balanced; buttery, hazelnutty and smoooooth. An obvious late-picked oil (check the harvest date!) that deserves nothing more than a chunk of good bread and a pinch of salt. Close to XXX.
XX. Skipstone Ranch Melina’s Harvest, November 2004, Extra Virgin Alexander Valley - Sonoma County $25/375ml Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby - brawny, punchy, ends with a surprising knockout.
XX. Soler Romero 100% Picual Olives Andalusia - Spain $18/500ml Why does this taste like nectarines, white pepper and grass? Starts fruity and sweet, then turns tangy on the finish. Slather some on sliced oranges with red onion slivers, lemon juice and salt.
X. Unio 100% Arbequina Olives Siurana - Spain $16/750ml The NZ sauv blanc of olive oils - spicy and green start to finish. Makes a great pesto with basil, anchovies and good parmigiano reggiano. Close to XX.
X. Zoe Extra Virgin Castilla-La Mancha - Spain $9/1-Litre Tin A tad rustic and rough, but a good value. Great for stir-frying veggies. Close to XX.
Tequila. Whether it conjures images of swarthy, ammo-strapped banditos sidled up to the bar in a captive Mexican border town or fantasies of idyllic hours in hammocks on tropical vacations, the word tequila is perhaps the most evocative in the drinker's lexicon.
Tequila's siren song is mysterious and sexy, with a hypnotic off-key recklessness. She lures you in by seducing your mind, secure in the knowledge that your body - and taste buds - will have no choice but to follow.
While this exotic spirit has tempted drinkers around the world for centuries, few of us who make margaritas a staple of summertime understand or appreciate the journey tequila has taken from Mexico's highlands to the local supermarket shelf. It's not all blender drinks and body shots. Tequila has a long and increasingly turbulent history - one that's almost as complex as the spirit itself.
Once Upon A Time In Mexico...
The tale of tequila is at least as long as the history of Europeans in North America. The spirit's precursor, mezcal wine, was produced shortly after the Spaniards arrived in the New World in 1521. Unaccustomed to drinking plain water (which, in their European homeland was rife with bacteria and bugs, and often a one-way ticket to the plague pit), the Conquistadors were eager to create a new alcoholic beverage. They found the makings at hand in pulque, a nutrient-packed brew derived from the fermented sap of agave plants, which had been a staple of the native diet millennia before the arrival of these thirsty men. The Conquistadors set to work distilling pulque into a drink considerably more potent, and in less than a century they were cultivating local agave and turning pulque into mezcal wine for exportation back to the Old World. Fortunately for generations of drinkers that followed, the Conquistadors never did know how to leave an indigenous people's traditions well enough alone; mezcal wine eventually evolved into the treat we now call tequila.
Though the origin of the word itself remains a mystery, it's believed that tequila was named for the small town of Tequila in the Jalisco state of Mexico. The "Father of Tequila," Don Pedro Sanches de Tagle, Marquis of Altamira, saw the potential for this potent liquor and established the first tequila factory in his hacienda in 1600. Over the next hundred years, tequila was used for everything from generating taxes for public works to curing New World illnesses. It became so popular, in fact, that Spain's king began to worry about the competition tequila was causing, and in 1785 banned production of all spirits in Mexico in order to promote the importation of Spanish wines and spirits. Unwilling to give up their livelihood to a monarch an ocean away, makers of mezcal wines simply continued their trade in secret - at times literally baking agave underground - until the ban was lifted when King Ferdinand IV took the throne the following decade.
The tequila manufacturer who remains perhaps the most famous today, Jose Antonio Cuervo, was the first licensed manufacturer in Mexico in 1758. His family's Casa Cuervo proved very profitable, by the mid-19th century boasting fields of over three million agave plants. Cuervo was the first distiller to put tequila in bottles instead of barrels, selling the first in 1906. Though other tequila distillers rose to compete with Cuervo and continue to join the market today (perhaps the most notable being Sauza), pioneer Cuervo remains the world's largest tequila manufacturer.
Improvements in transportation during the 19th century helped take the fruits of Mexican distillers' tequila labor into North America and beyond. As its popularity increased beyond Mexico's borders, tequila also experienced a growing reputation within the country during the revolution of the early 1900s, when the drink became a symbol of national pride. Caught in a nationalistic fervor, Mexicans quickly cast aside imports in favor of home-grown products of all kinds. Before long, tequila became synonymous with hard-living, fearless gunslingers like Pancho Villa - heroes of the era. In America, the Mexican favorite experienced a surge in popularity during Prohibition, when thirsty drinkers were tempted by tequila smuggled across the border, and again during WWII, when hostilities made European imports scarce.
Legend has it that the drink tequila made famous, the margarita, was first mixed in Mexico or a nearby state sometime between 1930 and 1955. The cocktail made its way into gringo hands, and no lime or Mexican flag on a toothpick has been safe since.
Don't Call It Cactus
Though often confused, mezcal and tequila are not one and the same. Both are distilled from the agave plant, a succulent from the same family as the lily and the amaryllis, but only liquors made from the blue agave are called tequila. Contrary to popular belief, agave is not a cactus. Though agave shares a common habitat with many prickly cacti neighbors, it has a different life cycle, and there are 136 Mexican species in its own unique agave family.
The process of creating tequila begins when the blue agave plant ripens, usually eight to 12 years after planting. Because the plant must be ripe enough to have sufficient sugars for fermentation, a jimador first performs the crucial task of chopping leaves away from the plant's core to assess its ripeness. If the plant is deemed ready, the core - or piña - is cut away and taken to a distillery for roasting in furnaces called hornos. After roasting, the piñas are shredded, and the juices pressed out and placed in vats or fermenting tanks. Once in the vats, yeast is added to the juices to convert the sugars of the agave to alcohol. These agents are so vital to the process and to creating unique tastes in tequila that distillers keep very tight-lipped about their individual yeasts. The resulting juices then ferment 30 to 48 hours before undergoing distillation twice. The outcome is a rich, potent, colorless liquid between 70 and 110 proof. The color comes later, brought on by wooden barrel aging, or from the addition of caramel or wood essence. In the final step of processing, most tequila is filtered through cellulose filters or activated carbon before bottling.
Protecting a National Treasure
Mexicans are understandably proud and protective of their national alcoholic spirit, and between World Wars I and II, the Mexican government began efforts to closely monitor production and distribution of tequila. In 1944, the government decreed that any product called tequila had to be made by distilling agave in the state of Jalisco. Today, there are only five regions where tequila can be legally made; most are in the semi-arid plateaus and highlands of Jalisco and the adjoining states of Guanajuato, Michoacan and Nayarit, and
the northeastern state of Tamaulipas.
To help guarantee the quality of tequila, in 1978 the Normas Oficial Mexicana (NOM) was established, regulating all agricultural, industrial and commercial processes related to the spirit. Since then, the industry has continued to grow, with more than 50,000 hectares of agave under cultivation and more than 500 brands of tequila available today. To help control the burgeoning industry, the Tequila Regulatory Council (TRC) was founded in 1994 to oversee industry production, quality and standards.
The fundamental standard set by these oversight agencies categorizes tequila based on the percentage of blue agave juice it contains. Tequila 100 percent Agave must be made with solely blue agave juices and bottled in Mexico. Tequila or "ordinary tequila" must be made with at least 51 percent blue agave juices and may be exported in bulk for bottling in other countries according to the NOM standard.
Which tequilas are "best" is primarily a matter of individual taste. With increasing manufacturers pumping cash into spiffy packaging, sexy bottles and glossy ads, a more expensive tequila doesn't necessarily mean a better product. There are numerous quality tequilas available for $20-$50 USD. Most brands available for under $20 are usually mixto (not 100 percent agave) and are mass-produced for local markets. A good and tasty way to find a favorite is to sample a wide variety of brands in the different styles: Blanco for its young, rough edge and rich agave flavor; Reposado, which is sharp and peppery; and the woody, smooth Anejo. Trying to settle on a personal favorite is a good excuse to work one's way across the tequila shelf at the local bar, one bottle at a time.
Tequila's Uncertain Future
While tequila has a good-time reputation as the key ingredient of backyard fiestas and frat parties, there's a dark side to this South-of-the-Border libation. The popularity of Mexico's national treasure has, in some ways, caused tequila more harm than good. Growing demand has led to discontent among agave farmers who, in 1996, organized a protest against exploitation by some producers. Their blockade ultimately cost the industry millions, and the loss was passed on to consumers via price increases.
Another blow struck the tequila industry in 1997, when producer Don Jesus Lopez Roman was killed in a gangland-style execution outside his factory. Roman, whose Tequila San Matias distillery was founded in 1884, had become unpopular after taking a vocal stance in support of bottling all tequilas in Mexico and banning bulk exports to ensure content and quality. His murder remains unsolved.
If labor disputes and murder aren't enough, a recent plague of pests, diseases and impending shortage of agave has led to potential crisis. Faced with spiraling agave costs, several distillers have discontinued their low-end brands to concentrate on their premium, higher-priced tequilas. The buzz among bartenders is that as availability of blue agave declines, the price of tequila will rise and quality may not go along for the ride.
But those who love tequila for its unique, sultry taste and colorful history won't be dissuaded by these natural and man-made dramas. As the Conquistadors discovered, once you've been captivated by this ancient spirit, there's no turning back from tequila.
RECIPES
True aficionados say the only way to enjoy tequila is straight up, but these tasty recipes are definitely worth a shot.
1 1/2 oz. tequila
1 oz. Galliano
1 oz. Blue Curaçao
Cream
Shake tequila, Galliano and Curaçao with ice, and strain into cocktail glass. Float cream on top.
How to Drink Tequila
Leave lime-and-salt shooters to the chain restaurant happy hour and sip tequila slowly. This is a rich, complex liquor that deserves full sensory attention.
Serve tequila at room temperature (though those who like it icy can keep a bottle in the freezer).
Enjoy Tequila Blanco and Reposado from a traditional "caballito" glass; sniff the aromatic Anejo from a snifter.
Serve up Blanco and Reposado with a "sangrita" made of tomato and orange juice with salt and chili.
When drinking tequila on the town, ask your server to bring the bottle and pour it in your presence to be sure you get the gusto you deserve (and the brand you actually ordered).
What About That Worm?
Everyone's heard tales of folks who ate the worm in a bottle of tequila and were rendered temporarily able to glimpse into a parallel universe. Truth is, tequila worms and their supposed visionary properties are the stuff of Hollywood movies and high school urban legends. One will never see a worm in Mexican-bottled tequila, though some U.S. bottlers toss in a critter for novelty.
If you're really hankering for a worm with your booze, it's possible to find some types of mezcal that include a gusano or "butterfly caterpillar" in the bottle. Even this isn't a Mexican tradition. Those in the know say the addition of worms was a marketing ploy developed in the 1940s - the drinkers' equivalent of the toy prize in cereal boxes.
To celebrate the end of May, which was an hellacious month for the wine world, Paul and Annette DiCarlo graciously opened up their home in East Dallas for a Sunday afternoon of eating and drinking. Summer is bearing down upon us, a time which we find ourselves embroiled in heat and heated debate about almost anything. Tempers flare, lines are drawn in the sand, swords are sharpened, clocks are set. But not before one last meal. One last great meal.
Sausage Paul had called me. ?You coming?? I reply, ?Hi Paul. Yeah, I?m coming. What? Where?? I was dreading that I had forgotten a tasting or an appointment, so I was ready to bolt out the door, one week in advance. I happened to be in Way west Fort Worth, so I figured I?d show up late and make an appearance. ?Next, week, the Amarone dinner. My house.? The line goes dead. My friend Paul, isn?t one for long good-byes.
But I was spared. It was in a week, so I had time to get back (and over) the meal I had just had, which was this larger-than-life chicken fried steak. You had to be there, it was one of those road-house food places that are rapidly disappearing in Texas and probably anywhere else.
One week, later, I have had time to prepare. Exercise, fasting, high colonic. Hey, you don?t go to Paul and Annette?s house and ?pick? at eating. You feast. And in today?s time when everyone is trying so hard to be frugal and inauspicious, this would be a little over the top. It always is. Some of the best chefs and restaurateurs in town would be there, so this wouldn?t be a time to say no.
We get there in time for a round of sparkling rose wine from the Veneto, all the rage now that they have saturated the market with Prosecco. I brought a bottle of Gruner just to be a contrarian. I figured after I blasted it in the last post, and some of the somms were chiding me for hating on the Gruner. Actually I like Gruner. And Zweigelt. But that?s another post.
Anyway, we get to the house and Sharon Hage of York Street is heating up a skillet for the foie gras. We were eating those things like catechumens sucking up Necco wafers. We were getting ready for the miracle of the wine, so why not?
Major Domo Adelmo was modeling his newly acquired seersucker shorts, which showed off his tanned and muscle-bound legs, gained from his early morning walks (stalks?) in the neighborhood. Adelmo is irreverent to anything that has been established as a custom. Wine in a wine glass? Why? When it is so much more fun to pour a rare Casa dei Bepi Amarone in a jelly glass? It was Sunday, these restaurant owners work, work, work all the time. Son of a gun never rests. Let him be.
The room was getting crowded what with the short ribs and the foie gras and the pasta course all heating up the kitchen, which is where everyone was congregating. The AC unit was on overload, set at 60. The room felt like 80+. Seersucker was a good idea, after all.
So after the foie gras apps and all the other salumi scattered around the room, we head straight into the pasta course, some funny looking maccherone with those wonderful baby tomatoes from the south. Simple and good food. Great with the Valpolicella lined up in pole position, waiting for their moment. Also waiting for those Amarones to chill down a little, nestled in the fridge with the dessert wine and the Dublin Dr. Pepper (after all, we are in Texas).
About the Amarones: Quintarelli '97 and '98, Dal Forno '01, Tedeschi '03, Masi '01, Viviani 'Casa dei Bepi' '01.
Good Lord!
We started with the Masi Mazzano 2001. What, do you want a tasting note? It was a good start. Kind of that old memory of Amarone from 30 years ago when the wines made were rustic with a little stink. Not too ripe, the funk was in check. How can I say it? Attractive but not sexy.
The Tedeschi Amarone "Fabrisieria" ?03 was more like a Recioto than any of them. This reminded me of the wines I read about in the past about Amarone, really a time trip. I would have like o try this wine when it was winter and we were eating polenta and a big slab of meat. But it was good.
The 2001 Viviani ?Casa dei Bepi? was among my faves. Maybe because the folks are familiar. But the wine had nice body, solid flavors, some elegance, the wood was subdued (thank God) and it complimented the food. Deelish.
The Dal Forno 2001. It reminded me of a Pontiac GTO that restaurateur Van Roberts once bought and had the engine stoked up to 600 horsepower. Lot?s o? pony in that bottle. And definitely a show pony. And a high maintenance one at that. At $400 a pop, yeah it is. Thanks loads to Paul for ponying up and sharing it.
And the twin vintages of Quintarelli, the ?97 and ?98. Now that was the moment of meditation for me. Everybody loves the ?97, the fruit, the power, the big balls. I get it. Or rather, I don?t get it for me. It was all that and a bag of chips, but the wine of the night, for me, was the 1998 from Quintarelli.
There are far better places to compare and analyze the two vintages, 1997 and 1998. For me, having them both there, sitting and staring at me, was great. Wonderful. I just found the 1998 to have this restraint, you know like when a gorgeous woman comes in to the room and she so seductively doesn?t show you her body with the way she dresses but you nonetheless get stirred up? That was what the 1998 did to me. ?Nuff said.
Ok, so this has been a bit of a mommy blog with seersucker and expensive wines thrown in. Not bragging. Celebrating. May was a tough, tough month for the wine business. We?re going to need more than a new set of tires to get ourselves dusted up and back on the wine trail, in Italy or Texas.
Every time Spring rolls around, I find myself thinking wistfully of Argentina. I spent a wonderful three weeks there a few years ago just after the harvest eating, drinking, and generally appreciating everything about the country. Now, especially as our family budget gets tighter, I reminisce about amazing dinners for $25 and great bottles of wine for $15.
So I dug through my notes a little just for nostalgia's sake and found a really nice wine that I discovered while I was there, but didn't end up writing about for some reason. I had asked the sommelier at Cabaa Las Lilas to recommend a Malbec that I likely couldn't find easily in the United States, and ended up with this gem from Adagio.
Sure enough, when I got home, I searched far and wide to find it, and couldn't, at least not on the Internet. Which may be why it took me so long to review this wine. I hope you'll forgive me for waxing enthusiastic about it in the absence of my ability to provide you with an easy way to get a bottle.
A joint project between four entreprenurial friends, Adagio is located in Mendoza's Lujan de Cuyo appellation or "department" as it is locally known. Of the 17 different departments in the province of Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyo has the distinction of being the only DOC designated growing area (and one of only three in the entire country). Located in a region known as the Northern Oasis, an odd name considering the region is technically a desert, this appellation sits in the foothills of the Andes where it receives very little rainfall and extremely large differences between day and night temperatures, two key characteristics that make for excellent growing conditions. Most vineyards lie in a relatively wide band between 1500 and 4000 feet in altitude.
There seem to be two primary stylistic directions for higher-end Malbecs made in Mendoza: those which lean towards the earth, and those which lean towards the fruit. The former have a leatheriness to them, and more tannic structure, while the latter are rounder and more polished, with more characteristics of California Cabernet, including sweet oak tannins. Adagio's wines are in the former camp.
This wine sits at the top of Adagio's portfolio of wines, and represents their best efforts every year. The grapes for the wine are hand picked into small boxes, which are then sorted carefully when they reach the winery. With the boxes containing lower quality grapes relegated to other wines, the clusters are then destemmed and the grapes sorted individually to remove anything but the most perfect fruit.
About half of the grapes are crushed, and the rest are poured into the fermentation tank whole, where they all soak together for several days at low temperature before fermentation is allowed to begin. After fermentation, the wine ages in new French oak for about 14 months before bottling, and then for another 12 months in bottle before release.
Tasting Notes: This wine is a dark garnet in the glass with a slight cloudy opacity that hints at the lack of filtering or fining. The nose has subtle, restrained aromas of dark wet earth, dust, and a graphite-like minerality. As it sits for an hour or so, the nose begins to show more cassis aromas, which, along with earthy black cherry flavors make up the fruit flavors on the palate. The more air the wine gets, the more the cassis begins to show. In the mouth, the wine is smooth and round with very well integrated tannins. A hint of leather enters the finish, which is long and with singleminded intensity similar to the wine's flavors. This focus is both to the benefit and detriment of the wine, which has a very distinct personality, but is missing a certain depth of complexity that would take it from being an excellent wine and push it into the realm of stellar. Having said as much, this is one of the best Malbecs I have tried. Based on the wine's performance over the course of a day or so, I'd suggest this wine will improve with 5 or so years in the bottle.
Food Pairing: I'll save you the trouble of ever asking an Argentine what to eat with your bottle of Malbec. There is only one answer, with many variations. I chose a rib-eye, grilled to perfection, accompanied by fried potatoes.
Overall Score: between 9 and 9.5
How Much?: $30
This wine is sadly not available for purchase on the Internet.
Wine Magazine have announced their 2007 WINE Classification (South Africa) - the fourth since first published in 2004.
It basically identifies South African wines and cellars with the best track records in terms of consistently good reviews in WINE magazine panel tastings conducted blind (without sight of the labels) over the previous five years.
If anything it gives you an idea of what to look out for in the respective categories when you're in the shops and/or which estates may be worth visiting.
Rkatsiteli is a new grape to me and I suspect that's true for many of you reading this post. It's the kind of grape that has us all channeling our inner wine geek and scurrying to dig out our Oxford Companion to Wine.
When you find your reference books, you'll discover that Rkatsiteli (pronounced "rkah-tsee-tely") is widely planted in eastern Europe, especially in places like Georgia, Bulgaria, and the Ukraine. In Russia, they make fortified wines (akin to Sherry) from the grape, and even turn it into brandy.
So how did it get to the Sierra Foothills, which is where the bottling I tasted came from? Rob and Marilyn Chrisman of Avanguardia Wines like relatively unknown and untrodden grapes even more than I do and have specialized in growing and making wine from them since 2004. Avanguardia grows Italian, French, Russian, and University of California crosses like Refosco, Peverella, Forestera, and Rkatsiteli. Some indication of their independent spirit can be seen in this statement from their web site: "As California wines go, our wines are somewhat atypical: we don't produce high alcohol wines, we don't like 'fruit bombs'. Only subtle oak is OK. Acidity is higher than most in order make them food friendly. Balance is everything here at Avanguardia." I've had two of their wines (so far) and they are terrific value and some of the most interesting wine I've had from my home state, so check them out if you're in need of spicing up your cellar.
The 2006 Avanguardia Cristallo I tasted recently is made with around 85% Rkatsiteli, with the remainder of the juice coming from Pinot Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Melon de Bourgogne. (available direct from the winery for $14) With nothing to compare it to in terms of varietal characteristics, I have to say that whether it is "correct" or not I really liked this wine. It smelled of fresh shucked corn--green and creamy at the same time. The palate is creamy, too, but it retains its herbal acidity and freshness, with grassy and floral notes. If you like your wines fresh and zesty, you will think this is a very good QPR pick. If you like your wines fresh, zesty AND geeky (as I do), you will think it has excellent QPR.
With your Rkatsiteli, I'd suggest some grilled fish. We had it with grilled halibut with a roasted pepper relish and some green beans with basil. The fresh, creaminess of the fish was a nice pairing for the creamy aspects of the wine, and the wine's herbaceousness accented the roasted peppers.
Calling all Rkatsiteli lovers: tell me your experiences with the grape in the comments below. Let's get a Rkatsiteli fan club going, ok?
Full Disclosure: I received this wine as a sample.
This wine is characterized by a yellow-green colour, a fresh citrusy aroma with hints of honey and a complex flowery aftertaste. It’s a semi-dry riesling, dryer than the Slovenian rieslings (such as Laski Riesling for example), but sweeter than those found in Serbia. It is a nice wine to accompany a lighter meal.
This is one of the wines available in Belgrade restaurants in 0.2l bottles, so if you’re a driver among non-wine drinkers (meaning you can’t order a whole bottle of some fine wine) it’s a good chance you’ll be in a position to try it. Do so.
Four VinesThe Peasant 2005 $36 Wine Label says: Temprance, like chastity, is its own punishment. 40% Mourvedre, 32% Syrah, 17% Grenache, 7% Counoise, 4% Tannat Rabbi Tuchman says: This Paso Robles wine gets SIX thumbs up from our dinner group. This is not a subtle wine. The descriptors going around the table were “full bodied” and “sharp.” We also [...]
Is it just my ungratefulness or does everybody find it excruciatingly frustrating to receive expensive and useless things when there's a long list of basic necessities that they, well, need?
With the season of giving quickly approaching, it's the perfect time to lure your friends and family out of their familiar patterns and into the giving of spirits. But, to lead these gift horses to water, one must first identify the reasons why well-intentioned people give lame presents:
1 They don't know what you like. 2 They were in a hurry, and couldn't find what you like. 3 They think plaid cartegan sweaters are always in fashion. 4 They're under the mistaken impression that you're difficult to buy for. 5 They saw something similar in your place and assumed you liked whatever it is. (A classic case of compounding misfortune perpetuated by a sense of obligation to display other useless gifts you've been given). 6 They have trailer park taste.
In order to get what you want, one must first condition the givers. This is easier than it may seem because givers are usually eager to please -- they just don't always have the good sense to recognize the glaring solution to their gift-giving dilemma. Here's how to help them help you:
1 Keep a running list of things you want or need. Think of the things you would buy yourself if you found a twenty, fifty or a hundred dollar bill on the ground. Every once in a while you luck out and get asked what you'd like. Be prepared, and be specific. There's no such thing as too specific -- size, store and even stock numbers help reduce guesswork.
2 Become unabashedly obsessed with a particular store (i.e., Williams Sonoma, Ikea, etc.), then endear yourself to someone on the sales staff so you can discretely exchange gifts without a receipt.
3 Develop a reputation (or perpetuate the myth) of being an aficionado or collector of something that's relatively easy to find. Wine and food lovers are already one step ahead of the game. You can never have too much fine wine or extra virgin olive oil, or too many cookbooks. Prominently display your cache, or create a shrine from the empty bottles to act as a constant reminder to potential gift givers. And once again, be specific about your tastes (e.g., Bordeaux from the St. Emillion region). If the giver is a militant teetotaler, embrace another collectible. Just be careful not to be perceived as fanatical about something that is too general (i.e., golf or cows) or you may open up a Pandora's box of useless novelty gifts. As part of the conditioning process, be expressive when receiving gifts you like (think: The Price Is Right), and restate your appreciation like a mantra each time you speak to the giver -- "I made a salad dressing last night with your olive oil, and it rocked my world."
After you graduate from this simple three-step program, you'll discover you can always get what you want. In fact, you just might find that you get a lot of it. Be sure, however, to let me know when you have too much Burgundy wine.
The font of the title is pleasantly wacky, and the title itself promises a dream-like escapade in which Feiring daydreams herself ?saving the world? and falling in love with a superhero winemaker. Not a bad concept. This is not a journalistic effort like other recently released wine books, To Cork or Not to Cork, The Billionaire?s Vinegar, First Big Crush, Wine and Philosophy. This is a personal essay on a personal point of view. The book is a small-format book?hardbound, 5 ? by 8?, 158 pages exclusive of acknowledgments and index, and can easily be read in a few hours. In the introduction she says, ?I am hoping to intrigue those who want wines that truly have a story to tell. Once people experience these wines and winemakers, once they know that wine truly does have soul and character, it will be difficult for them to cozy up to wines made by the numbers and not from the heart.? I hope that this book fulfills her mission. Unfortunately . . .
In the wine and food business we are a little like social anthropologists. There is something about the search for the best pizza, the ripest peaches, the home cured salumi and the perfect little caf in the neighborhood. When it really gets down to it, the fancy wine list and the latest trend, from molecular gastronomy to collision cuisine, what I really want is a great bowl of pasta with a bottle of wine that I can enjoy and afford to drink regularly.
Easy enough to find in Italy. But we live in America. Ok, so we take it home and do it there. Yes, we can. But, but, but we all want to go out and have a nice time. A little recreation time at the table. Maybe that is what?s wrong with the way we look at dining in America. It started out as a special occasion and chefs and restaurateurs just keep trying to outdo the next guy. I see it all the time. Out in the suburbs a shopping center has erected a building to look like a gambling casino, complete with the fancy limo in front. The message is, ?You cannot get this at home. Don?t even try. Sit back let us take care of you. Relax. You deserve it.?
Is that the direction Americans are going these days?
So where are we going? Everywhere you look, you see the words local and sustainable and organic and artisanal. Good ideas that have become buzz words to bandy about in building a brand that has no center. What good is it to get grass fed beef if the line cook over salts it? Organic peaches that find themselves in a perverse mnage trois with blood oranges and jalapeno chutney? Why?
Talking with a couple of food journalists recently and the idea of the young chef came up. And the question was, ?Does the young chef have anything to say with their food if they haven?t gotten enough life experience to be interesting with their creations?? Dining out wasn?t intended to be a reality show (unless it?s Hell?s Kitchen). The little CAF sign I found on the street at midnight in Old East Dallas, oh how I would have loved to go back in time and see what was going on in that kitchen. This time, culinary archeology. And I find in the conversations around the table with friends, here and in Italy, we are looking for that wonderful Carbonara, that simply perfect Margherita, the espresso that one finds so easily in gas stations in Italy. Why is it so darn hard?
Wine lists. Working with several clients over the last few weeks, and really finding some very different opinions. But more and more I am seeing restaurant people rethinking the way they serve wine in their places. Less popular is buying a wine for $17 and reselling it for $65. The wave I have been seeing, in Houston, in Dallas and Austin, is that same wine on a blackboard for $39. You know at $39 a party of four will buy two bottles. At $65 they might nurse that bottle of wine. So the establishment sells one bottle and had $48 in gross profit. Selling two bottle for $39 and they have $44 to work with. A smaller profit? Yes. A happier clientele? Most assuredly. And most likely to return sooner. This is a wave that is coming from San Francisco, from Southern California, New York, and Texas is right there, too, with these ideas. This is exciting stuff for the wine producers back in Italy who have a storeroom full of wine right now.
Maybe that young couple who bought beer with their pizza or took it to-go to have with their Chianti at home can now have a reason to sit down in their neighborhood caf and have wine instead of beer, dine-out instead of take-out. Maybe dining out might just come back in.
Cycling the Tour de France has been likened to running 20 marathons in 20 days. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t run one marathon in 20 days.
Yet there I was, under the blistering sun of Provence, slowly pedaling my way up one of the most dreaded, soul-crushing climbs of last year’s Tour: Mont Ventoux. What lured me to that beast of a hill was a longing to do more than just watch the Tour de France. I wanted to experience the Tour de France. I yearned to ride the very roads that, just hours later, would be chewed up by Lance Armstrong, Laurent Jalabert and Joseba Beloki. I wanted to white-knuckle it down the same hairpin turns, and be cheered on by the giddy spectators who’d camped out for days, waiting for that colorful tsunami of Spandex to speed by. Basically, I hungered for a taste of what the world’s most grueling sporting event really felt like.
That’s what landed me, my husband and 13 others on a Tour de France cycling trip with Backroads, an adventure travel company. The plan was to follow the last third of the three-week race as the riders whizzed their way past the lavender fields of Provence, up the mythical Alps and down the cobblestoned Champs-Elysées in Paris. Along the way, we’d stay in four-star hotels, consume obscene amounts of French fare and work off those calories by cycling 40 to 60 miles a day (except during the trip’s three rest days). We’d get to bike some of the most memorable segments of Tour de France routes. We’d also tackle short sections of last year’s course, a torturous 2,032-mile journey.
“How hard can this be?” I naively wondered as I sat on my couch, lazily thumbing through a Backroads catalog. “It’s not like we’re doing the whole Tour. Just part of it.”
But that “part” happened to be the part with the mountains. Big, colossal, mammoth mountains.
Even so, I saw this as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If the prognosticators were right, I’d be witnessing Lance Armstrong pedal his way into the history books, becoming the first American ever to win six Tours. I’d be right there, literally, on Armstrong’s road to victory. Mountains, shmountains, I reassured myself. I’m 34 years old; I take spinning classes. I’ll be just as good as anyone else on the Backroads trip.
I knew I miscalculated that last part as soon as I got a glimpse of the other Backroads travelers. Most of the men’s legs were shaved closer than mine. This meant there was either a disproportionate number of transvestites on the trip, or these were some serious cyclists. It turned out to be the latter, which meant my husband and I were destined to play the role of lanterne rouge, the red lantern that hangs from the back of a train. It’s Tour-speak for “the slowpokes.”
But unlike the Tour, this was a vacation, not a competition. At least that’s what I kept telling myself as I crawled up Mont Ventoux, which I think is French for “makes you curl up in a ball and cry for Mommy.” The 6,273-foot mountain juts out of the Provençal landscape like a giant tumor; and this tumor is anything but benign. Comedian and cycling aficionado Robin Williams summed it up this way: “Even the mountain goats don’t like it.”
Ventoux is a relentlessly steep 13-mile climb to the barren, lunar-like summit, where exhausted British cyclist Tom Simpson keeled over and died during the 1967 Tour. As I started to wonder if the same fate might await me, a burly Frenchman with a moustache as big as my handlebars decided I needed a little pep talk.
“Allez! Allez!” he repeatedly shouted in my ear as I crept up the mountain in granny gear. My French friend was telling me to “Go! Go!” which was what I wished he would do, since sweat was stinging my eyes, my legs felt like the beleaguered stage during “Riverdance” and the last thing I wanted was a hairy cheerleader.
But his words pushed me on, if only to put a little more distance between me and his Burgundy-infused breath.
I’d hear the “Allez! Allez!” refrain countless more times from the throngs of onlookers who’d staked out their spot on the mountain, waiting for the Tour to wheel by in a few hours. Folks like me were merely the warm-up act.
We all know the French are very good at some things (food) and not so good at others (war). But they’re extremely adept at the high art of tailgating. When they weren’t rooting on amateur cyclists like me, they killed time by sipping wine, nibbling on brie and baguettes, playing cards and painting riders’ names on the street.
At my heady speed of 4 mph, I had ample time to witness all of these pre-race festivities. It became clear that, to the French, the Tour is much more than a sporting event. It, like Jerry Lewis, is a cultural phenomenon. Unlike Jerry, it’s easy to understand the Tour’s appeal. This is a race packed with more drama than a Jerry Springer show, and with at least as much potential for bloodshed. Catastrophic crashes. Drug raids. Cheating. Smack talking. Not to mention jaw-dropping displays of athleticism. It’s hard to imagine just how much pain these guys put themselves through until you’ve sampled some of it firsthand.
Mont Ventoux is a kick-in-the-teeth climb, even when you’re cycling it with fresh legs like we were. But the Tour racers had logged 120 miles that day before broaching the base of Ventoux. And they still managed to go up it faster than I went down it. How’s that for an ego-deflater?
It truly is a humbling experience to watch more than 150 Tour riders sail up the very road you just cycled. They make it look so easy. But your burning quads and aching back remind you that it’s not.
I thought cycling Ventoux would leave me too exhausted to cheer on the racers. But one glimpse of that Texan wearing the coveted yellow leader’s jersey had the effect of a dozen espressos. There he was. Lance Armstrong — cancer survivor, cyclist extraordinaire — about an arm’s length away from me, plowing up the very mountain that made my legs feel like overcooked fettuccine. Despite being chased by a pack of cyclists who wanted nothing more than to strip that golden jersey off his back and feed it to him in tiny pieces, he looked more serene than I do in a bubble bath.
Other racers gulped oxygen like frat boys chug beer. But Armstrong seemed to be barely breathing while he pumped his pedals like pistons. I knew I was watching an über-athlete in action. I had a front row seat at the Tour de Lance, and I’d earned it. At the top of my overworked lungs, I shouted the words I’d once heard from a wise, mustachioed Frenchman: “Allez! Allez!”
Bringing a strawberry charlotte recipe ? a firm, chiffonlike mousse set in a fanciful mold ? that appeared in The Times in the 1940s into the 21st century.
Garbage in, garbage out, right? Well… Often times I’m opening a bottle of wine in the beginning of the week to review or sample for a client. By the time I want to drink wine, like tonight, that bottle is shite. This bottle was a very lovely tart, surly thing to begin with; so past [...]
For maximum enjoyment, pour yourself a fresh cup of joe before settling in to watch this frenetic little toe-tapper. In French, with English subtitles.
I find it hard to open Fourrier’s bottles now – mainly it’s due to the capsules – or lack of capsules. Since the 2005 vintage the domaine has topped their bottles with shiny red wax, and that offers me two problems: one, the wax looks much too pretty to break; and two, wax normally [...]
I?m in Austin this week and enjoying the company of people who are really interested in wine, even Italian wine. Business here seems to be revving up and after a day with a producer from Montalcino, the reception has been, well, humbling.
I say this because we are just beginning to get into the 2004 Brunellos after what has seemed to be one of the longest years of selling a vintage. The vintage has been the 2003, which got hit by the perfect storm of a lesser than great vintage, the ?little problem? in Montalcino and the October 2008 world financial meltdown.
So the warehouses and shops and restaurants have an ample supply left of the 2003 Brunello. Pity, because today as we tasted the 2004 from Caparzo, I really felt sorry that a great vintage like the 2004 is suffering only because of the circumstances we have all found ourselves in.
What to do? Is the '03 Altesino Montosoli so terrible? Of course it isn?t, after all it is the sibling rival to Caparzo and Guido Orzalesi would tell anyone that the wine is sound and bonafide. By the times aren?t yet receptive. Or the ship has already sailed for the 2003. So, once again, what to do?
I would (and do) advise to simply take the hit and close them out. Now. Lesser wines are taking the hit. Dolcettos and Barberas are streaming through the wine bars having been discounted to ridiculously attractive levels, ones that even I would bite on. And I need no more wine in my closet.
In the case of the 2003 Brunellos if only to give the 2004 their time under the spotlight, even if it is only the life cycle of a drosophila.
Which leads me right into this question: Why is it the market seems to get so interested in Italian wine after it has been discounted to cost or below?
Really, three times in this month I have had wine buyers, somms and restaurant managers wax the glories of a particular wine or two. After the third one mentioned it, I started to wonder how wines like these got their legs so deep in the community. We?re talking Dolcetto and Barbera and from producers that are well known, Einaudi and Vietti. And let?s throw in the Fontodi Chianti Classico Riserva, too. I heard that one lately too, even though it probably is a residual memory serving only to try and diminish any of the legitimate attempts to sell Italian wine for what it is worth. More on this to come.
The Dolcetto. I saw it on a list Out West and thought, what the heck, seems like a good wine that someone bought and didn?t know what they had. It was lively. And then again, I saw it, in another fancy place. Ok, good, the wine buyers have sussed out a sleeper, and we all benefit from their acuity. Hoorah for us!
The Barbera. I started hearing about this little beauty from SB (somm-buddy) who comments on this site. I knew the place, went up to the estate in Castiglione Falletto back when the crust of the earth was cooling. I got it then, just stood up a bottle of their ?81 Nebbiolo to let the dust settle. Had first communion with Alfredo, OK? I get it.
And then the dirty little secret comes out. The wines were ?discounted?. Closed out. Disontinued. Disco?d. Why? Upon a little digging I hear that Remy Amerique, the importer for Vietti, is sandbagging their wine division. So these folks are possible soon without a home. No future? Time to disco? Sure seems like it.
And Einaudi, are they without an importer? They still show up on the Empson site, so it doesn?t look like that is their fate. Overzealous buyer at the distrib? Perhaps, but I?m not sure. Maybe my Empson peeps reading might share some insight. The wine is real. Good. So, what happened?
How to get excited about Italian wine when it is not on close-out?
Look, for a generation now some of us have been carrying this donkey up the hill. The Italians always undervalued their wine, almost apologizing for it because of the price. A Chianti Classico Riserva selling for $7 when a 3rd growth was going for $12. And the Italian was contrite, ashamed, sorry. So the wine got discounted down to $3 and all of a sudden lots of buzz from a restaurant here, a wine shop there. It was rampant in the 1980?s with Rosso di Montalcino, the ?throw away? wine. The distribs had to buy the Rosso to get the Brunello and when it didn?t sell they?d schlep a bottle to Don Cazzu and make him an offer he couldn?t refuse. Great stuff, from Costanti to Il Poggione to San Restituta. I am not kidding. How many times I sat there with my bag of wine while Don Cazzu tells me what a great deal he got for the ?74 RdM for only $2 a bottle. And he was right! But it perpetuated the image of Italian wine value. A Rosso di Montalcino was only worth $2-3 a bottle because it wasn?t bought right in the first place and it surely was never sold right. And so the true value of the wine never made it into the hearts and minds of the wine buyers.
And now we stand here, once again, at the corner of Downturn and Summertime with Dolcetto and Barbera and 2003 Brunello and when will we ever get to the place where we can really rev it up on the Montalcino autostrada of life? I think our little vehicle needs some work on the engine, the little one that takes us up the hill, yes we can, I think we can, will we ever? Can we?
Deep breath. Close eyes. Relax. Maintenance light is flashing. Must consult the manual. Ad Occhi Chiusi.
What are your views on biodynamics? For me I can appreciate the beliefs and thoughts behind the practise, especially after chatting to such converts as Rudiger Gretcher, winemaker at Boekenhoustskloof, South Africa. For the general consumer however the 'ideas' appear as little more than 'hippy talk' or, at worse, just add to the mysticism and impenetrability of wine as a whole.
A survey by Berry Bros. & Rudd backs this up as only 15% of drinkers would buy a wine purely because of its biodynamic (or organic) certification. The environmental impact of wine production is rarely a concern for wine lovers.
As the Berry Bros. survey finds the root of this is a lack of understanding - with six in ten (57%) wine buffs saying they'd buy more biodynamic wine if they understood how it was grown.
"In light of the fact that many wine lovers remain in the dark about biodynamic and organic wine production, with many respondents citing biodynamic methods as 'mysticism', Berry Bros. & Rudd is launching 'Wine Matters', an initiative to dispel biodynamic myths and encourage wine enthusiasts to have their say on how the wine they buy is produced.
The initiative, at bbrblog.com/category/wine-matters, is an interactive platform for debate with a series of topics and discussions from Berrys' Masters of Wine and industry experts, including a post from Jasper Morris MW, asking: 'Biodynamics: Do we believe?'
Morris comments: "Our number one concern as a business is selling the very best quality wine and we are increasingly seeing that biodynamic production methods, given the stringent attention to detail required by producers, result in better quality wine. We want to share this knowledge with our customers and let them know where their wine has come from and how it has been made."
Berry's will be inviting guest bloggers each week to join the debate including biodynamic wine producer from Rhne, Montirius, and Gavin Partington from The Wine and Spirit Trade Association."
Visit Wine Matters to have your say on biodynamic wine production and learn more about biodynamic viticulture methods.
Berry Bros. & Rudd will also be inviting wine lovers to come to the Berrys' Factory Outlet, in BasingBerry'sstoke, for a complementary biodynamic wine tasting on 5th and 6th June and are including an organic or biodynamic wine in Wine Club cases going out to over a thousand members.
Chateau Petrogasm, I LOVE you. I want to pop several corks with you, and find myself in a compromising position in the morning. Yes, I’d even do the walk of shame for you, Chateau Petrogasm. My butt is firmly planted on the bandwagon. I’ll be your largest sycophantic follower. What in the heck is Chateau [...]
I love a winery that has their stuff together with regards to technical information, bottle images and other resources. Makes life so much easier when you don’t have to keep an avalanche of winery bumf in hundreds of bulging folders…which I don’t do anyway, as it happens. You need a subscription to The Wine Front to [...]
“You’re the prowler of the night to the beds of virgins, Oh God what powers you have to gain kindnesses from girls.” (Old Gaelic toast to whisky)
If any spirit sums up what spirits are about, it’s whisky. It adapts to where it’s made, who’s drinking it and why. It can be as sophisticated as high tea and as rough as three-day stubble. Sipped or slugged, it can inspire art or arson.
In a purely anthropological sense, whisky goes hand in hand with bread-eating cultures and climates. The process goes something like this: You grow grain, which you make into bread. You mill your grain and save a bit to sow for next year’s crop, but in the good seasons what do you do with the extra? Give it to the pigs? No way. You make whisky.
Irish Whiskey
What came first, the Irish predilection for drink or the drink itself? It’s a real chicken and egg scenario. Whatever the answer, the Irish did make whiskey first. Distilling had already been around in Ireland for a couple of hundred years when its first historical mention occurs. Apparently in 1276 Sir Robert Savage fortified his troops with “a mighty draught of uisce beatha (whiskey).” Irish whiskey began with the rural poor in Ireland, who probably preferred to drink than eat. These days there’s much more to the difference between Irish whiskey and Scottish whisky than the letter ‘e’.
It all comes down to quirks in production that are utterly Irish and devoid of logic. Although there’s a fair bit of peat in Ireland it was rarely used to dry the malted barley. Coal was preferred. This is the defining difference. That smokiness so apparent in Scottish whisky is not there. Without the smoke screen to mask the flavors, there’s a delicate perfume and a less masculine taste. The Irish also use raw barley as well as malted barley. This evolved not from any desire to make a better tasting whiskey but because there was a tax on malt.
Oats were used occasionally for the same reason. Irish whiskey is distilled three times (as opposed to the normal two) in larger than normal pot stills. The idiosyncrasies of pot stills and the extra distillation produce a uniquely delicate drink. Whiskey made this way is known as “pot still whiskey” and like Scotch is often blended with neutral-tasting grain whiskey.
Jameson, based in Dublin, is a blend of pot still and grain whiskey and sums up what Irish whiskey is all about. The classic Tullamore Dew got its name because its founder was Daniel E. Williams, initials D.E.W. It’s renowned for its lightness. Bushmills is the oldest surviving distillery in the world and is a little more malty than most Irish whiskeys.
Scottish Whisky
Whatever the Irish say, Scotland is the spiritual home of whisky. No other drink is so associated with one country. But until about 1840 ‘Scotch’ as we know it didn’t exist. In the early 19th century malt whisky production was booming. Licensed distilleries had jumped from 125 to 329. At the same time the continuous still was being developed. Invented by Aeneas Coffey (an Irishman!) and patented in 1830, it allowed for the bulk distillation of grain spirit. The blending of malt whisky and cheaper grain whisky from the Coffey stills was a logical step.
Scotch was born.
For the unadventurous it had the same appeal as McDonalds, processed cheese, fish fingers and instant coffee. Its success was guaranteed. Many malt distilleries shut down or operated only to produce blending components for Scotch. Until Glenfiddich decided to stick a toe in the export market in the 1960s, you couldn’t buy a single malt whisky outside Scotland. Thankfully malt whisky has made a comeback. If you’re into single malt you’ll want to taste everything, but here are a few suggestions: Talisker, Highland Park, Bowmore and Lagavulin.
American Whiskey
Whether they liked it or not, whiskey followed the Puritans to America. The Scottish and Irish emigrated too and brought with them a desire to drink and the means to make good that desire.
The defining thing about American whiskey is that it isn’t made from barley. Corn was indigenous to the U.S. and it was corn and rye that were used. No one can agree on when and by whom the first drinkable corn whiskey was distilled. Some say it was the Baptist preacher Elija Craig in 1789, others John Ritchie in 1777, and some Evan Williams in 1783. No matter, Kentucky soon became the state most famous for whiskey and racehorses.
The story here goes something like this. Thomas Jefferson, governor of Virginia at the time, offered 60 acres to any settler who built a permanent structure and grew corn. Sixty acres produces a lot of corn and the excess was turned into whiskey which was then shipped down the Mississippi to New Orleans and traded for Arab horses, which were then ridden up the Natchez trace back to Kentucky. Whiskey and racehorses often go together but rarely is the relationship so symbiotic.
To be called a bourbon, a whiskey need not be from Bourbon County but it must be at least 51 percent sour corn mash (most are about 70Ð90 percent, the balance being barley and rye) and aged for at least two years in charred, white oak barrels. Charring of the barrels is a crucial part of the process. Said to have been invented by the aforementioned Reverend Craig, the charring opens up the wood and brings out those vanilla and caramel flavors crucial to the bourbon style. Wild Turkey is a classic big bourbon available in a range of alcoholic strengths, while Woodford Reserve is a little more sophisticated and a good sipper.
Tennessee Whiskey is a corn whiskey but it differs from bourbon. It’s smoother and lighter, less sweet and heavy. The reason is charcoal filtering. Newly distilled clear spirit is dripped through a vat filled with finely ground charcoal. When people ask for Tennessee Whiskey they don’t, they ask for Jack Daniel’s.
As ever, language says more about the differences in whiskies than any amount of technical detail. In Ireland a person asks for a whiskey by brand name: “a Paddy” or “a Dunphy” or in rare cases generically as “a ball of malt.” In Scotland they’ll ask for a single malt by name as a dram, nip, tot or the affectionate “wee goldie.” Americans ask for a belt, blast or a slug. Each is a different drink drunk differently. They just happen to be all made in stills, all called whisk(e)y and all have that power to gain kindnesses from girls.
WHISKY
TERMS
* Single Malt Whisky - A term coined in the 1970s during the malt whisky revival, used to define the whisky of one distillery made with 100 percent malted barley.
* Scotch - A blended whisky made in Scotland.
* Irish Whiskey - Whiskey made in Ireland, normally a blend of pot still whiskey with malted barley and grain whiskey.
* Bourbon - An American whiskey with 51 percent or more corn mash aged for two years in charred oak barrels.
* Tennessee Whiskey - a whiskey with no specific grain criteria but normally made with corn mash and charcoal filtering.
While reading a salad recipe in a recent Saveur recently, my curiosity was piqued by an instruction to cook the bacon garnish by boiling it, then frying as usual.
The intent of the recipe was to make bacon crumbles for use in a salad, but I decided to try the method to prepare my breakfast bacon and have been using it ever since. Here?s what you do:
Bacon Boiled and Fried
Ingredients: three strips bacon 3/4 cup water
Preparation: In a 10" skillet, bring bacon to a boil over high heat. Add bacon in one layer and reduce heat to a slow boil. After water boils away, fry bacon until desired doneness is reached, turning as necessary.
Once the water has evaporated one needs to be vigilant, because since the bacon has been cooking in the boiling water it browns very rapidly. You?ll be able to tell when the water is gone by the change in the sound as the bacon begins to fry.
This does take longer than the usual method, but the resulting bacon is more uniformly cooked, easier to crisp without burning, and a bit lighter on the palate.
Rivalries and conflicts simmer throughout the world. At least one was resolved peacefully last week in a historic vertical tasting of the wines of the two Pichons.
Around 1850, faced with the inheritance laws of the Napoleonic code, Baron Pichon split his Pauillac estate among his five children: his three daughters got the larger share of the property but his two sons inherited the chateau itself and two-fifths of the vineyard. This action not only set up a rivalry between the two properties but also doomed legions of wine consumers to confusion between the two adjacent estates now colloquially known as Pichon-Baron or Pichon-Lalande.
In the 1987, AXA Millsimes, the wine holding unit of the multinational insurance group based in Paris, bought Pichon Baron, which had fallen into disrepair. Jean-Michel Cazes of Chateau Lynch Bages ran the operations, which included upgrading the winemaking as well as overseeing a renovation the cellars and the chateau. But according to one account, tensions escalated between the two estates as Cazes laid claim to the Pichon name calling the property simply Chateau Pichon-Langueville with no reference to “Baron,” much to the dismay of Mme May-Eliane de Lencquesaing of Pichon-Lalande! In late 2006, Mme de Lencquesaing, in her eighties, confronted the same inheritance laws that had divided the original property. Rather than seeing it torn asunder, she sold a majority stake to the Rouzaud family of Champagne (Roederer).
The managing directors of both properties convened on New York for a tasting at the Wine Media Guild on April 27. Christian Seely, wearing his trademark bow tie, represented Baron while Gildas d’Ollone, formerly a professional opera singer who has overseen the last twenty vintages of Pichon Lalande, represented the Comtesse. Members and their guests packed the private dining room to (over)capacity.
First up was a walk around tasting of both the wines from 2000-2006. Unfortunately the room was quite a tight space, which made taking detailed notes problematic. Here are some rapid fire observations from this portion: Pichon-Lalande has a higher proportion of merlot in the final blend; coincidentally, it slightly rounder than its cabernet dominant neighbor, which may be why some who use anachronistically ascribe gender to wine attributes consider it the more “feminine” of the duo. I found the 00 and 04 Lalandes the unfortunately disappointing from this portion; the 2002 was particularly lovely, especially given the vintage; and the 03, 05, 06 were richer, with 06 carrying the style most successfully. On the Pichon-Baron side, things are really cranking under Christian Seely who took over in 2000, which produced an excellent wine. Of the 01, 02, 04 vintages, I preferred the 01 and 04. The 2005 was fantastic and the 06 excellent.
At lunch, we heard from our speakers who both talked about changes in vineyard practices with d’Ollone specifically pointing to deleafing, yield management, and grape ripeness, which, he said, explains why they haven’t used “concentration systems in the past five to seven years.” In the discussion about historical yields, both the speakers praised moderately high yields with d’Ollone pointing to the coincidence of high yields high quality in the 82 and 89 vintages while Seely talked of a balance, above “garagiste” levels and below the high levels of some years gone by.
Seely flashed his wit on at least a couple of occasions. Mark Golodetz, the member who coordinated the lunch, brought up the recent posts on this site pertaining to the policy and practice at The Wine Advocate and recommended it to everyone as a good springboard for a discussion about ethics and wine writing. Seely then deadpanned, “I’ve always found wine writers distressingly incorruptible!”
The 2008 vintage also came up in the discussion: d’Ollone said that they had priced the Lalande 08 futures already and had sold directly in China for the first time since eight is a lucky number there. Guild member Peter Sichel opined that the 2008 vintage “is an enormous opportunity” given the quality and the pullback in demand. After a brief discussion about the vintage of the decade, Christian Seely again deadpanned “I want to be clear: 2009 really is the vintage of the century.”
Putting away the crystal ball, we were able to look backward instead in our crystal glasses. With lunch we had both the wines from 1990, which, unfortunately didn’t show well. But the 1989s were superb in both cases–truly exceptional wines that still have many years in front of them. We also had a 1975 Pichon-Lalande from a double magnum, courtesy of one of a member’s guest. The wine was still intact, with high acidity, but it was a good thing that we drank it that day. But the wine of the lunch was the 1985 Pichon-Lalande, which had a beautiful patina of age, with a beautiful subtle intensity, and a long and satisfying finish. When Cabernet is on, man, it can be on fire.
D’Ollon declared the lunch a “historic event.” Now that there’s peace in Pauillac, hopefully more Pichon-Pichon tastings will occur around the world. Sign up for one if you can.
I’ve been thinking these past weeks about how to post a number of reviews I have in my Evernote tasting log. After experimenting with different formats I think I have arrived at a good starting point that will be refined as I go through your feedback and by just posting reviews. Since wineries have sampled more than they ever have over the past few months, many of these reviews will be disclosed as such and this got me thinking about a more formal disclosure about how I taste and review wines.
When I started 4 and a half years ago I bought all my wines at retail. I still buy a fair amount today and these wines are not labeled after the retail price I paid. Since I live in a State that likes to tax and control the sale of alcohol to the extreme, your retail price will most likely be lower. All samples provided for review are labeled after the winery suggested retail price with the “/sample” tag. For the rare case of wines tasted in tasting rooms, wine events or trade tastings I will be using a new tag, “/tasting”, to denote that I have tasted under these conditions. I usually do not post these reviews as I will be tasting a number of wines in the, “sniff, taste, spit,” routine. Wines I especially like will be tasted twice before I make notes. Most of the notes posted here with this tag will be in more controlled winery tasting room or barrel cellar conditions.
I think these disclosures are important to the reader as it shows how long I have spent with each wine before writing down my impressions. For all samples and wines bought at retail this is typically over the course of 2-3 days, in controlled conditions with and without food. After tasting, the bottles are topped with inert gas to prevent oxidation. Notes written at tastings are 2-3 minute snapshots of wines which tends to favor the most concentrated and aromatic wines which is why I typically don’t post those reviews. Usually I pick up bottles of the wines I like at tastings to taste later at home. Unless I make it clear in the review none of the wines are tasted blind. As samples accumulate from the same varietal, I will do more blind tastings and indicate this in my notes.
Photo by Ryan Opaz
There are a smattering of scales used on reviews here over the years. I used a 20 point scale (1-10 with half point increments) for a while before converting to the 100-point scale (using Robert Parker’s method). Over the past several months I have exclusively used a 5-star scale I proposed for bloggers some time ago and plan to continue to use this scale going forward. I really don’t like putting a numerical rating on wines but it does provide the reader with some context even if highly subjective. I will also start posting all reviews on Snooth and linking back to each review here to help readers find these wines.
Finally, I have no formal wine education other than reading books and tasting wines on a nearly daily basis since 1982. While Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule might suggest I have reached some sort of expert status in evaluating wine I, like other tasters, still have a lot to learn. My intention is to continue to taste as many wines as I can exploring new varieties and regions and share what I like here. It’s really as simple as that.
Let me know if you have any questions and check out my code of ethics and samples policy posted elsewhere on the site.
SPIT and SIPPED: Bordeaux 2008 After better-than-expected but still largely tepid reviews, Bordeaux 2008 took a shot in the arm form Robert Parker who raved about it. All the action is summed up nicely, with charts of price action, on FT.com’s Alphaville blog. Quotage from Simon Staples, aka BigSiTheWineGuy and a buyer at Berry Bros and Rudd in London: “He [Parker] went crazy about 2003 (all on his own) He missed 2005 (everyone else loved it) He?s now potty about 08(a few very nice wines)Plot?Lost?”
SIPPED: wine growing Wine in London, yes. But vines? Apparently so. But a terroir de double decker diesel may be avoided: Decanter reports that a horticultural college about 10 miles north of St. Paul’s has planted 1,500 vines.
SPIT: red wine stains A South African winery blog posts with the results of their tests on various red wine stain removers. The winner: hydrogen peroxide! It’s a cost-effective result considering hydrogen peroxide costs something like 99 cents a gallon at Duane Reade. [ht: Tasting Room]
SIPPED: plastique Wolf Blass, an Australian producer, announced two new wines in plastic (PET) bottles that resemble a traditional glass bottle.
SIPPED: fighting garden thievery The BBC reports that Hugh Johnson, renowned wine writer and avid gardener, had “a late 17th Century astronomical sphere and urns [stolen] from his historic garden.” He has posted a 1,000 reward for information leading to the return of the items.
A 64-page softcover pocket guide that you can keep handy. Offers everything you've ever wanted to know about wine from A-to-Z. Learn about wine-production regions along with their maps major grape varietals storing pairing serving and selecting the perfect wine glass. Softcover 64-pages. Size: 8-'H x 3-'W
The Wine Bottle Glass Funnel is perfect for those instances when have a little wine left over in your decanter or even in your glass. The thinness of this glass funnel allows you to insert the funnel right into any bottle. Then easily and cleanly you can pour the wine back into the bottle for a later date.
The elegance of the Wine Enthusiast lead-free crystal 'U' Decanter enhances your wine experience with an inner dome to increase the oxygenation of fine wines. The finger-hold punt ensures controlled pouring every time. Gift Boxed. Recommend to hand wash. Size: 10-3/4'H 46 oz.
As Seen on Ellens 12 Days of Giveaways & Good Morning America The pocket-size electronic talking Wine Master offers a sleek and slim design easy control panel and over 10 000 wine and spirits reviews ratings and suggested retail prices at your fingertips. The newest version of the Wine Master is the most essential wine tool you can own. Bring along with you to wine shops and restaurants and never make another wine buying mistake again. Requires 2-AAA batteries (not included). Over 10 000 wine and spirits reviews ratings (100 pt. scale) and suggested retail prices from Wine Enthusiast Magazine Food and wine pairing guide Digital display screen with back-light and compressed text functions Talking navigation with on/off Type Varietal Winery or Vintage search option Handsome non-zipper black case Wine Master is a mighty wizard that gives you mastery over the most serious wine shop clerks and sommeliers. Brushed aluminum with chrome accents. The Wine Enthusiast 2008 Wine Buying Guide is also available. Size: 4-3/4'H x 3'W NOTE: The information included in the Wine Master is based on the reviews and ratings conducted by The Wine Enthusiast Magazine. For the 2008 edition we added 10 425 reviews. Therefore if you look at a review of a 2002 Caymus in 2007 and in 2008 the review will be the same. Since we cannot review all the wines produced in a year some wines may not appear with a newer year review which does not mean that the wine is discontinued but just that particular vintage (year) was not reviewed.
Always know 'whose glass is whose' with these wine cellar-themed charms! Set of 6 cast metal charms are finished in antique silver and dangle from 3 strands of glass-faceted beads. Magnetic closures make sure the these mini-medallions stay secure around the base of each guests' wine glass. Set of 6 charms includes a wine bottle corkscrew grapes wine glass chiller bucket and cheese wedge.
You needn't interrupt your enjoyment of the wine now to fuss with pumps and dispensers. Deliberately low tech our Wine For Later Set eschews pumps spray cans nitrogen gas canisters and complicated dispenser systems for the graceful time-honored process of decanting. When you uncork a bottle simply pour off the wine you wish to save for later using an elegant glass funnel. Top off either the 1/2 bottle or the 1/4-bottle decanter and seal it with our airtight glass stopper. Since no air comes in contact with your wine it remains unoxidized and unspoiled. Adorn the decanter with our ornate silverplated grape-cluster cork pin for easy identification. Only from The Wine Enthusiast. Gift-boxed 6-piece set includes: 2 Wine For Later glass decanters 1/2 bottle size and 1/4 bottle size. 2 airtight glass stoppers. A beautiful glass funnel. A silverplated cork pin.
Choose the right wine every time! From the editors of Wine Enthusiast Magazine comes the most current comprehensive and informative wine buying guide on the market. Based on tastings by a distinguished in-house panel this wine buying guide features qualitative ratings reviews and prices for more than 50 000 wines. Plus tips on when each wine is best enjoyed. Also includes expert advice on tasting and storing vintage wine charts and Top 10 lists. 990 pages. Softcover.
Pair your wine with top chef recipes! A memorable meal starts with the wine! Find over 80 delectable recipes organized by wine style. This first cookbook by the editors of Wine Enthusiast Magazine guides you in selecting the right recipe for your wine. Includes recipes from top chefs such as Bobby Flay and Rick Bayless along with expert wine pairing tips. Whether you're serving a light aromatic white or a big powerful red you'll choose the right dish here! 256 pages with full color photography. Hardcover. Take A Look Inside At Sample Recipes.
The Riedel Syrah Decanter is a great wine decanter to use everyday. It's perfect for Syrah or any other red wine. Crafted in Germany of lead-free crystal the Syrah decanter holds 49-ounces and stands 9-5/8' tall. Add to your wine decanter collection or give as a gift any season. Size: 9-5/8'H 49-3/8 oz.
Make wine your next party theme! Consider this your personal party planner! Step-by-step instructions and essentials make hosting a wine tasting easy. Includes 100 wine tasting sheets 6 cloth blind wine tasting bottle bags with embroidered letters A through F 6 wine tasting masts Wine Enthusiast Magazine vintage chart corkscrew and a 15% Off Coupon for Wine Enthusiast glassware. Sip save enjoy!
The Wine Clip uses principles of magnetics to improve the taste of wine as it is being poured out of the bottle. The effect is instantaneous and has been found by many wine professionals to result in a genuine improvement in flavor and mouth-feel especially when used on red wines. Using magnets to treat fluids water fuel wine etc. - is not a new idea and the technology has been applied successfully in many industries. What causes the effect has been the subject of some debate but it is generally thought that passing a conductive fluid through a properly designed magnetic field has an effect on the polar molecules in the fluid. In wine it is believed that the large polymerized tannins in wine that normally result in a high degree of astringency are broken up or otherwise affected resulting in a less astringent softer flavor. The Wine Clip may also accelerate aeration by drawing higher concentrations of oxygen to the wine as it is being poured. In contrast with most gases oxygen is highly magnetically susceptible and is attracted to a magnetic field. This would explain testimony from wine experts that The Wine Clip instantly produces the benefits of time consuming aeration. Lifetime warranty.
Learn how to host a tasting party! Host a great wine tasting party with this complete new essential wine tasting kit. Created by the editors of the prestigious Wine Enthusiast Magazine you'll find all the how-to's and essentials of hosting over 30 wine tastings. Kit includes: Wine Enthusiast Magazine Pocket Guide to Wine plus 2006 Vintage Chart 2 tasting checklist notepads 6 bottle bags 6 bottle stoppers 24 bottle tags a blank wine journal 2 wine label removers and a coupon for two free issues of Wine Enthusiast Magazine . Size: 6'H x 9'W x 3-'D
Luigi Bormioli Esperienze Wine Decanter is a complete innovation in the field of wine appreciation. Designed by Federico DeMajo the lead-free crystal wine decanter is a combination of technical skills and creative artistry. Made in Italy the interior base of the decanter is designed with ripples; tiered concentric circles that facilitate rapid wine oxygenation as the wine is poured into the decanter and flows down over them for an excellent wine tasting experiences. Dishwasher safe. Size: 9-1/4'H 88 oz.
Love your wine? Show your metal! Serve it with the help of this animated bottle holder handcrafted from recycled steel copper and wood. German artist Guenter Scholtz skillfully bends welds brushes and carves these materials to bring this whimsical wine taster to life a discriminating gent leaning on a wine rack fitted with a wine barrel. Holds most standard size wine bottles. Comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. No two Scholtz pieces are exactly alike. 12'H x 6'W x 5'D
A One-of-a-Kind GiftFor the wine lover that has everything a fun gift theyre sure to cherish. Weve matted and framed our Wine Enthusiast Magazine cover with your choice of tiles (Man Woman Wine Enthusiast or Chateau of the Year). Theres a careful 7 1/4' x 7' cut-out in the cover so you can slide in a photograph of your favorite wine enthusiast. Every wine lover on your list should have one. You can purchase it as a special package with a one year subscription to Wine Enthusiast Magazine and SAVE $16.95 off the regular subscription price. Size: 14'H x 11'W Framed Print
An elegant arc turns serving into ceremony. Geometrically designed Parabola wine decanter offers a unique shape to a classic wine accessory. This stunning mouth-blown wine decanter is visually exhilarating and optimally functional. Made of 24% lead crystal the Parabola decanter offers a unique handle and spout holding a full standard-sized bottle of wine and provides flawless aeration. Size: 10-1/2'H 56 oz. NOTE: Please use the recommended Decanter cleaning balls when cleaning the Parabola decanter.
Make the hippest wine bar in town yours! Three wines any time no waiting! This professional wine preserve and wine serve system keeps 3 opened wine bottles fresh for weeks and primed for pouringright at home! Spigots serve as both stoppers and dispensers of argon gas. Argon prevents wine from oxidizing and spoiling over time. Non-electric and compact. Black with stainless steel trim. Accommodates most standard-size wine bottles. Non-electric and compact. Black with stainless steel trim. The argon gas cartridges are hidden in a compartment underneath your wine bottles. The system includes two argon cartridges which will power 12 to 15 wine bottles each. Size: 11-1/2'H x 10-1/2'W x 5'D
Attract more wine loversglass by glass! Increase your bar or restaurant sales by offering a wider selection of premium wines 'on tap'. This professional preserve-and-serve system keeps 5 opened wine bottles fresh for weeks and primed for pouring. Spigots serve as bottle stoppers. With each pour argon gas is dispensed into each bottle to blanket the wine's surface from oxygen and prevent it oxidizing and spoiling over time. Wine Saver PRO's commercial grade quality is ideal for restaurants hotels bars and wineries or for any wine lover that enjoys serving wine. Wine Saver HOME also makes the ultimate addition to any home wine cellar. Accommodates most standard-size wine bottles. Non-electric and compact. Black with stainless steel trim. The argon gas cartridges are hidden in a compartment underneath your wine bottles. Available here and sold seperately argon cartridges will power 12 to 15 wine bottles each.
Inspired by furniture pieces originally found in Bordeaux and used by the regions expert wine makers for tasting sessions of their Grand Cru wines. Special guests wine merchants or the wine makers themselves would taste some of the finest vintages at the very foot of elegant furniture pieces such as this. EuroCaves contemporary version has been designed to accommodate the needs of todays wine connoisseur. The Elite Wine Buffet is ideal for entertaining and can be placed in any room. The ample display shelves are ideal for storing glasses displaying decanters keeping reference books and storing spirits. The storage drawers can hold other accessories such as corkscrews label savers tasting albums and much more. The Elite Wine Buffet can hold a maximum of up to 20 bottles. Sold seperately the wine cellar space can accommodate a EuroCave Performance 83. Size: 56-5/16'H x 54-5/16'W x 29-9/16'D. Light assembly required.
Tecnorati
Cider is one of my favorite things. To me, cider is to autumn as maple syrup is to spring ? a seasonal treat best enjoyed from local sources. The transparent, pasteurized stuff in the clear glass jugs doesn?t hold a candle to the rich, brown nectar made at area orchards and packaged in plastic jugs.
As these words appear on the page, outside my window the sky has its own idea about what a ros is. Of course, in the early morning the idea of a ros is an evolving one. Right now we?re in a Franciacorta ros moment. As Spring winds down and Summer is setting the stage for its moment, wine lovers love to talk about ros.
Copper River salmon are streaming into the local food shops, and at $27 a pound, one cannot always afford a Bandol Ros from Domaine Tempier. One of my go to wines is the La Scolca Rosa Chiara. I know purists probably won?t agree with me, but they don?t run my life. And I love this wine. It?s lively, had a wonderful color and enough body to go with the salmon I love. Maybe it?s my lack of agenda when it comes to enjoying a wine, but I find pleasure in the enjoyment of this ros. I love the color. I like the aromas. I like the fruit. And the body. It?s gulpable. And on a picnic in the park, listening to a Beatles or Stones or Texas Swing cover band, it?s pure summer. Not quite tiny bikinis, but enough skin to tempt and tantalize.
Texas foods, like chicken livers and the baked Italian chicken that my aunt taught me to make go well with anything. But if I have a bottle of a deep ros like one from Abruzzo, Calabria or Sicily, all the better. Three that I like are the Illuminati Campirosa, The Librandi Rosato and the Regaleali Le Ros. These are more deeply colored and with a fuller body. The spice and the fuller flavors match well with fried foods and again make for a wonderful evening on a porch or a patio, sipping with friends and your favorite warm weather comfort foods.
Seasonal warming brings out the grills and makes for a nice transition to the outdoors, if only for an evening. Here in Texas we are preparing for the onslaught of mosquito season, so while we feast we will also be feasted upon. Fish on the grill reminds me of the Maremma and so a ros from that area is a great way to sooth oneself. Marco Bacci?s estate near Grossetto, Terr di Talamo, brings some of us his Piano Piano, a Sangiovese/ Cabernet blend (with maybe a little Alicante as well, eh Marco?). Light in color, fresh, in a word, deelish.
Last summer I trekked to Chicago for a few days. One of the highlights of the trip was to make the pilgrimage to one of the great pizza ovens in America, 
We started with a sky the color of Franciacorta ros. For me the morning are serious stuff, so Franciacorta gets the nod for my serious morning ros fix, if I were on vacation or if I stayed up all night. But a little to the east over in Valdobbiadene the Prosecco folks are jumping on the ros bandwagon. And our friends at Bisol have come out with this little ros called Jeio. It?s a perfect wine to sip on the porch while I watch my bees working furiously before the light of the day comes to an end. Here we are, not for me it is time to go to work, selling, not blogging. Getting through another tough month. Ah well, the bees don?t complain, why should I? I?ll just chill a bottle of the Jeio ros for this evening. That?s reason enough.
To celebrate the end of May, which was an hellacious month for the wine world, Paul and Annette DiCarlo graciously opened up their home in East Dallas for a Sunday afternoon of eating and drinking. Summer is bearing down upon us, a time which we find ourselves embroiled in heat and heated debate about almost anything. Tempers flare, lines are drawn in the sand, swords are sharpened, clocks are set. But not before one last meal. One last great meal.
We get there in time for a round of sparkling rose wine from the Veneto, all the rage now that they have saturated the market with Prosecco. I brought a bottle of Gruner just to be a contrarian. I figured after I blasted it in the last post, and some of the somms were chiding me for hating on the Gruner. Actually I like Gruner. And Zweigelt. But that?s another post.
Major Domo Adelmo was modeling his newly acquired seersucker shorts, which showed off his tanned and muscle-bound legs, gained from his early morning walks (stalks?) in the neighborhood. Adelmo is irreverent to anything that has been established as a custom. Wine in a wine glass? Why? When it is so much more fun to pour a rare Casa dei Bepi Amarone in a jelly glass? It was Sunday, these restaurant owners work, work, work all the time. Son of a gun never rests. Let him be.
The room was getting crowded what with the short ribs and the foie gras and the pasta course all heating up the kitchen, which is where everyone was congregating. The AC unit was on overload, set at 60. The room felt like 80+. Seersucker was a good idea, after all.
So after the foie gras apps and all the other salumi scattered around the room, we head straight into the pasta course, some funny looking maccherone with those wonderful baby tomatoes from the south. Simple and good food. Great with the Valpolicella lined up in pole position, waiting for their moment. Also waiting for those Amarones to chill down a little, nestled in the fridge with the dessert wine and the Dublin Dr. Pepper (after all, we are in Texas).
About the Amarones: Quintarelli '97 and '98, Dal Forno '01, Tedeschi '03, Masi '01, Viviani 'Casa dei Bepi' '01.
The 2001 Viviani ?Casa dei Bepi? was among my faves. Maybe because the folks are familiar. But the wine had nice body, solid flavors, some elegance, the wood was subdued (thank God) and it complimented the food. Deelish.
And the twin vintages of Quintarelli, the ?97 and ?98. Now that was the moment of meditation for me. Everybody loves the ?97, the fruit, the power, the big balls. I get it. Or rather, I don?t get it for me. It was all that and a bag of chips, but the wine of the night, for me, was the 1998 from Quintarelli.
This wine is characterized by a yellow-green colour, a fresh citrusy aroma with hints of honey and a complex flowery aftertaste. It’s a semi-dry riesling, dryer than the Slovenian rieslings (such as Laski Riesling for example), but sweeter than those found in Serbia. It is a nice wine to accompany a lighter meal. 
In the wine and food business we are a little like social anthropologists. There is something about the search for the best pizza, the ripest peaches, the home cured salumi and the perfect little caf in the neighborhood. When it really gets down to it, the fancy wine list and the latest trend, from molecular gastronomy to collision cuisine, what I really want is a great bowl of pasta with a bottle of wine that I can enjoy and afford to drink regularly.
So where are we going? Everywhere you look, you see the words local and sustainable and organic and artisanal. Good ideas that have become buzz words to bandy about in building a brand that has no center. What good is it to get grass fed beef if the line cook over salts it? Organic peaches that find themselves in a perverse mnage trois with blood oranges and jalapeno chutney? Why?
Talking with a couple of food journalists recently and the idea of the young chef came up. And the question was, ?Does the young chef have anything to say with their food if they haven?t gotten enough life experience to be interesting with their creations?? Dining out wasn?t intended to be a reality show (unless it?s Hell?s Kitchen). The little CAF sign I found on the street at midnight in Old East Dallas, oh how I would have loved to go back in time and see what was going on in that kitchen. This time, culinary archeology. And I find in the conversations around the table with friends, here and in Italy, we are looking for that wonderful Carbonara, that simply perfect Margherita, the espresso that one finds so easily in gas stations in Italy. Why is it so darn hard?
Wine lists. Working with several clients over the last few weeks, and really finding some very different opinions. But more and more I am seeing restaurant people rethinking the way they serve wine in their places. Less popular is buying a wine for $17 and reselling it for $65. The wave I have been seeing, in Houston, in Dallas and Austin, is that same wine on a blackboard for $39. You know at $39 a party of four will buy two bottles. At $65 they might nurse that bottle of wine. So the establishment sells one bottle and had $48 in gross profit. Selling two bottle for $39 and they have $44 to work with. A smaller profit? Yes. A happier clientele? Most assuredly. And most likely to return sooner. This is a wave that is coming from San Francisco, from Southern California, New York, and Texas is right there, too, with these ideas. This is exciting stuff for the wine producers back in Italy who have a storeroom full of wine right now.
Maybe that young couple who bought beer with their pizza or took it to-go to have with their Chianti at home can now have a reason to sit down in their neighborhood caf and have wine instead of beer, dine-out instead of take-out. Maybe dining out might just come back in.
I would (and do) advise to simply take the hit and close them out. Now. Lesser wines are taking the hit. Dolcettos and Barberas are streaming through the wine bars having been discounted to ridiculously attractive levels, ones that even I would bite on. And I need no more wine in my closet.
The Barbera. I started hearing about this little beauty from SB (somm-buddy) who comments on this site. I knew the place, went up to the estate in Castiglione Falletto back when the crust of the earth was cooling. I got it then, just stood up a bottle of their ?81 Nebbiolo to let the dust settle. Had first communion with Alfredo, OK? I get it.
Look, for a generation now some of us have been carrying this donkey up the hill. The Italians always undervalued their wine, almost apologizing for it because of the price. A Chianti Classico Riserva selling for $7 when a 3rd growth was going for $12. And the Italian was contrite, ashamed, sorry. So the wine got discounted down to $3 and all of a sudden lots of buzz from a restaurant here, a wine shop there. It was rampant in the 1980?s with Rosso di Montalcino, the ?throw away? wine. The distribs had to buy the Rosso to get the Brunello and when it didn?t sell they?d schlep a bottle to Don Cazzu and make him an offer he couldn?t refuse. Great stuff, from Costanti to Il Poggione to San Restituta. I am not kidding. How many times I sat there with my bag of wine while Don Cazzu tells me what a great deal he got for the ?74 RdM for only $2 a bottle. And he was right! But it perpetuated the image of Italian wine value. A Rosso di Montalcino was only worth $2-3 a bottle because it wasn?t bought right in the first place and it surely was never sold right. And so the true value of the wine never made it into the hearts and minds of the wine buyers.
While reading a salad recipe in a recent 
Around 1850, faced with the inheritance laws of the Napoleonic code, Baron Pichon split his Pauillac estate among his five children: his three daughters got the larger share of the property but his two sons inherited the chateau itself and two-fifths of the vineyard. This action not only set up a rivalry between the two properties but also doomed legions of wine consumers to confusion between the two adjacent estates now colloquially known as Pichon-Baron or Pichon-Lalande. 
The managing directors of both properties convened on New York for a tasting at the 
Seely flashed his wit on at least a couple of occasions. Mark Golodetz, the member who coordinated the lunch, brought up the recent posts on this site pertaining to the policy and practice at The Wine Advocate and recommended it to everyone as a good springboard for a discussion about ethics and wine writing. Seely then deadpanned, “I’ve always found wine writers distressingly incorruptible!”
